The driver in focus for Volvo Truck's new traffic and product safety director

The interaction between the driver and truck lies at the very heart of Volvo Trucks’ world-leading safety work. “With increasing numbers of advanced support systems in the trucks, it is more important than ever to focus on the person behind the wheel,” says Volvo Trucks’ new Traffic and Product Safety Director Carl Johan Almqvist.

Carl Johan Almqvist is to continue Volvo’s successful work within traffic and product safety. ”Volvo Trucks’ safety work is world class. My ambition, as new to the job, is to increase the driver focus in the development work,” emphasises Carl Johan Almqvist.

Human error lies behind about 75 per cent of all traffic accidents and Volvo Trucks has specialised in developing systems that prevent one of the most common accident causes - fatigue. In 2008, several advanced support systems were launched, including the world-first Driver Alert Support which warns the driver if the system regards his or her driving as erratic.

”Alcohol is the most common cause for fatal traffic accidents. In this area we advocate zero tolerance and are leading safety progress by having alcolocks, for instance, factory-fitted in many European countries,” continues Carl Johan Almqvist.

Drivers without safety belts a challange
The drive to prevent accidents takes place in parallel with continued emphasis on maximum possible collision safety – and here too the driver is in focus.

Carl Johan Almqvist explains, “Although we have had safety belts in our trucks for many years, there are still many drivers who choose not to use them. Globally, several thousand accident victims could be saved by the truck’s most obvious safety feature. This is something we have to improve, a challenge that is as great as the development of new active safety systems.”

As the new Traffic and Product Safety Director, Carl Johan Almqvist has taken over responsibility for one of Volvo Trucks’ most important core values. He has 34 years of experience with the company, both from within product development and the Swedish and international sales organisations.

Always close to customers and drivers
Most recently Carl Johan Almqvist was head of the Volvo Demo Center in Gothenburg where, as he comments, “I have had the privilege of meeting thousands of our customers and drivers every year. Many of my discussions have dealt with safety and what it means to the driver and the haulage firm. This has given me the opportunity to emphasise important aspects that are not always so obvious, such as the link between avoiding accidents and transport economy,”

In 2009, the EU will introduce new legislation for driver training that includes safety as an important ingredient. Volvo Trucks was one step ahead of the legislation and last year started offering CPC safety training course that meets the forthcoming requirements.

“A well-trained driver experiences less stress and this contributes to a lower risk of accidents and even to lower costs for damage and repairs. Furthermore, the training course allows us to spotlight the importance of the safety belt and other basic safety issues”, says Carl Johan.

Integration of new technology
In order to contribute to increased traffic safety in the longer term too, Volvo has co-ordinated a pan-European research project (AIDE) which among other things examines data on how the driver handles safety and information systems while driving.

“With the advent of increasingly sophisticated support systems, it is important that they do their job without disrupting the driver. It’s all about co-ordinating the various technical solutions and tailoring them to match the flow of traffic and the driver’s situation. Our aim is to build safe trucks that make the job behind the wheel easier. However, the truck can never take over the responsibility of driving. That is - and will continue to be - the driver’s job,” concludes Carl Johan.

www.volvo.com